Natural rubber, derived from the plant Hevea brasiliensis, is a core component of many industrial products such as in coatings, films, and packaging. Natural rubber is also used widely in medical devices and consumer items. However, the widespread use of Hevea natural rubber is problematic for several reasons. First, the vast majority of Hevea-derived natural rubber is grown from a limited number of cultivars in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, using labor-intensive harvesting practices. The rubber and products made from Hevea are expensive to import to other parts of the world, including the United States, and supply chains can limit availability of materials. Furthermore, because of the restricted growing area and genetic similarity of these crops, plant blight, disease, or natural disaster has the potential to wipe out the bulk of the world's production in a short time.
Second, particularly in the medical and patient care areas, an estimated 20 million Americans have allergies to proteins found in the Southeast Asian Hevea-derived natural rubber crop. Like many other plants, Hevea produces proteins for structural support and for defense-related purposes in response to environmental conditions. However, there are at least 62 known Hevea antigens involved in Type I latex allergy, and more than a dozen of these Hevea-derived latex proteins are common human allergens, including: Hev b1, and Hev b3 used in rubber biosynthesis, defense related proteins Hev b2, Hev b4, Hev b6.01, Hev b6.02, Hev b6.03, Hev b7.01, Hev b7.02, Hev b11, and Hev b12, and other proteins such as Hev b5, Hev b8, Hev b9, and Hev b10.
An allergic response to Hevea begins when a latex-allergic individual is exposed to these proteins, triggering immunoglobulin E (“IgE”) antibody production. The IgE antibodies cause a variety of responses, depending on the severity of the allergy. Typically, latex allergies are limited to skin inflammation, but serious reactions, and even death, may occur in some individuals.
Overall, the widespread pervasiveness of latex allergies in the U.S. population is costly, particularly in the medical area. To avoid unnecessary allergic reactions during medical procedures, providers must ensure that only alternative latex products come into contact with a latex-allergic patient. Furthermore, practitioners who themselves have latex allergies must ensure that they do not come into contact with natural latex-based products. Finally, synthetic rubber alternatives are often much more expensive or are unavailable in non-Hevea latex forms.